Biographical Information

Eric Gruss

Eric Gruss started working with LANs as a systems engineer with LAN Associates in Babylon, N.Y., in 1992. In 1996, he joined Link Computer in Bellwood, PA where he worked with Cisco equipment while supporting NetWare and NT. He then became a senior systems engineer specializing in WANs, VPNs, wireless, and IP telephony technologies. He designed, implemented, and supported large-scale projects across Pennsylvania and sometimes beyond. In 2003, Eric accepted a position at Reliance Bank, Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he is now the assistant vice president and as well as the information security officer and the information technology manager.

Tom Bianco

Tom Bianco took office as the district attorney of Indiana County in January of 2008. Tom is a graduate of Penns Manor High School, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and the Dickinson School of Law. He has practiced law in Indiana County for over fourteen years. Tom formerly served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable W. Parker Ruddock and the Honorable William J. Martin. He also served as an assistant public defender and assistant district asttorney for Indiana County.

Dominick (Dom) Glavach

Dominick (Dom) Glavach, CISSP is an IUP alumnus and principal information systems security engineer at Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) with extensive experience in cyber-attack methods, trends, and counter-measures; intrusion detection; computer incident response; and malware analysis. His work at CTC includes numerous Information Assurance projects for CTC and CTC customers. He has designed and implemented Internet exchange point Intrusion Detection Systems; served as a network attack subject matter expert for the National Defense University; developed and coordinated Cyber-exercises for CTC customers; and presented “*nix Computer Forensics” for the International High Technology Crime Investigation Association.Concurrent Technologies Corporation is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization providing innovative management and technology-based solutions to government and industry. Established in 1987, CTC operates from more than fifty locations with a staff of over 1,400 employees. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, CTC’s primary purpose and programs are to undertake applied scientific research and development activities that serve the public interest. We conduct impartial, in-depth assessments and technical evaluations that emphasize increased quality, enhanced effectiveness, and rapid technology transition and deployment. CTC offers a broad range of services and capabilities, coupled with real-world experience.

Daniel Larkin

Mr. Larkin established the first Cyber Fusion Unit for the Federal Government, enabling Govt/Law Enforcement to effectively colocate with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from industry and academia, substantially enhancing resource sharing (personnel, technology, and intelligence) to the mutual benefit of all participants. This unique collaborative effort also has helped build crucial cross-sector trusted relationships, as a vital foundation of this alliance. This multifaceted fusion team continues to develop unprecedented intelligence and resource capabilities for the participants and is viewed as a model for developing additional (franchise) public/private alliances across the U.S and in a growing number of countries worldwide. Private sector partners include numerous financial services organizations, telecommunications, technology, e-commerce, and several NSA certified Academic Institutions of Excellence. Law enforcement partners include a growing list of federal, state, and local agencies, as well as international investigators from more than a dozen countries.

As the FBI unit chief of the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), Mr. Larkin expanded the focus of this project to include hundreds of SMEs from industry and academia as major contributors of both intelligence and exceptional analytical skills. He also oversaw the major overhaul of the IC3 complaint management system and directed the development and successful completion of numerous international cyber crime initiatives, in which more than five hundred arrests and millions of dollars in seizures were accomplished.

Prior to that, Mr. Larkin was a supervisory special agent for ten years, where he oversaw numerous regional and national joint agency initiatives involving public corruption and fraud associated with many federal, state, and local agencies. He also served as team leader in the “Operation Illwind” Pentagon scandal, contract fraud and corruption investigation, which led to record settlements and convictions in the late 1980’s.

Mr. Larkin also developed one of the first High Tech Crime Task Forces in the United States incorporating SME resources from multiple sectors, including federal, state, and local government married with high technology, financial services, telecommunications, and academia from the private sector. This unique collaboration of assets included partnerships with the Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon University and led to the development of the first national public/private alliance to identify and combat cybercrime, known as the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance.

Additional Accomplishments

Authored the FBI's National Cyber Crime Strategy

Established first public/private alliance joint (industry, academia, and law enforcement) initiatives for the FBI addressing criminal spam, phishing–credit card fraud, identity theft, and international money laundering, which are continuing

Initiated and managed first FBI national undercover operation, targeting international cybercrime

Oversaw numerous joint L.E initiatives in which more than five hundred individuals and organizations were prosecuted domestically and abroad

Established first L.E. resource sharing and education initiative between the FBI and West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana)

Developed the Internet Risk and Resource Assessment Project to educate and empower law enforcement and secondary educators regarding child exploitation via the Internet

Honored as Distinguished Alumni in 2008 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Scott Zimmerman

Mr. Zimmerman has twenty-seven years of IT and cyber security experience and is a principal technical advisor at Concurrent Technologies Corporation in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Mr. Zimmerman’s education includes a B.S. in Management Information Systems and an A.S. in Electronic/Computer Technology. He is a certified information systems security professional, information systems security engineering professional, and a member of the Cloud Security Alliance. Mr. Zimmerman has gained a broad background in Information Technology and Information Assurance/Security, including: network operating systems; information assurance systems; forensics; network management systems; and network modeling and simulation tools. In addition to his technical skills, he has sixteen years of program management experience. He currently serves as a technical director on several DOD/IC programs.

Abstracts

Dominick Glavach and Scott Zimmerman

According to research firm Gartner, cloud computing services revenue should total $56.3 billion for 2009, representing a 21.3 percent increase compared to 2008. The market is expected to explode to $150.1 billion in 2013 (1). This trend toward cloud computing is creating numerous challenges for cyber forensics professionals. In traditional models, an information assurance or digital forensics professional operated in a domain where system components where within physical reach and ownership boundaries were well defined. The forensic analyst worked directly for an organization and had access to—if not directly administered—the organization’s computing infrastructure. An organization’s network infrastructure had uniform configurations and settings that they could collect, preserve, or analyze. For example, date stamps were consistently applied, and memory allocation and overwrite procedures were clearly and evenly executed. These consistent system configurations and behaviors (or breaches of anticipated behaviors) were an integral component of a forensic investigation. In a cloud model, consistently configured network infrastructure become less consistent. For example, because user systems and cloud systems can be separately administered, date stamp settings may differ from the user side and the provider side where the requested application lives in a cloud. How then to match up a user request and actual use time?

Tom Bianco

The DA will present the state and federal laws pertaining to cybercrime and prosecution, and laws governing digital evidence and concerns related to applicable federal statutes (such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and the Cable Communications Policy Act, both as amended by the USA Patriot Act of 2001, and/or the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, state statutes, and local policies and laws.